It was King and Queen of Heart night on Friday in Sabetha and while neither Bluejays team trailed after the opening minute of the game, both squads had to hang on tight to win after both Hiawatha squads mounted furious fourth quarter comebacks.  47 was the magic number as Sabetha girls and boys remain a top the Big 7 League Standings with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

GIRLS = Sabetha 47, Hiawatha 44

Sabetha jumped to a 6-0 lead and stretched the advantage to 12 twice in the second quarter before heading to the locker room with a 35-26 margin.  They balooned the lead to 41-24 with 1:13 left in the third quarter before Hiawatha opened the fourth frame on a 12-0 spurt to get within 41-39 with three minutes left in the game. 

The Lady Redhawks, who had lost by 29 points earlier in the season against #3 ranked Sabetha,hit three treys in the final period (five total in the second half), including one by Cariann Kunkel to make it 46-44 with :34 remaining.  Sabetha added one free throw by Taryn Schuette with :25 to go and the Hawks barely missed a trey by Sydney Campbell in the closing seconds that may have sent the game to overtime.  

Mariah Huneke scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half including 7 of 8 free throws while Alexis McAfee also scored 10 of her 12 in the first 16 minutes of the contest.  Taryn Schuette scored in every quarter but had 10 of her 14 in the second half to help Sabetha stay perfect in the Big 7 (12-0) and was the Citizens State Bank and Trust Company of Hiawatha "Player to Bank On."  The Lady Jays made 14 of 18 foul shots on the night and improved to 15-1 overall, despite committing some late turnovers as Hiawatha mounted their comback. 

The Redhawks fell to 11-5 overall and 7-5 in the League despite 17 points from Emily Gartner.  Kunkel scored 12 of her 14 in the second half and 9 in the final quarter while Molly Kettler added all 11 of her points after intermission.  Hiawatha had 9 of their 14 turnovers in the first half and connected on just 5 of 9 at the charity stripe. 

BOYS = Sabetha 47, Hiawatha 46

Sabetha used an 8-0 run to take a 10-3 early lead and was up 19-6 late in the first quarter.  Joseph Kunkel nailed a line drive, one handed bullet from three-quarters length before halftime that pulled the Hawks within 28-19. Still trailing 37-30 entering the fourth quarter, Hiawatha made 4 of their 10 three-point-baskets to mount a late comeback.  Kunkel's basket with one minute left made it 42-40, but Sabetha spread out into a four corners offense and got four big free throws from Alec Kirwan and one from Jonah Montgomery that proved to be beneficial.  Trailing 47-43, Hiawatha got a steal in the final seconds and Kunkel lauched and connected on a half court shot to provide the final score, but leave the Redhawks with their fifth straight defeat. 

Kirwan was the "Player to Bank On" from the Citizens State Bank and Trust Company in Hiawatha with a team high 13 points, including 5 of 6 at the stripe.  Brock Frey added a trio of fourth quarter freebies and finished with 11 as Sabetha overcame 10 turnovers in the second half.  Montgomery and King of Hearts, Caleb Strahm, (Queen was Lillian Brownlee) each added 7 as Sabetha improved to 15-1 overall and 11-1 in the Big 7 League.  They made 15 of 20 foul shots on the night.  

Kunkel with his herioc shots to end each half finished with 16 points and while Troy May hit four treys to score his 12 and Tom Nolte added 9 on a trio of three-pointers.  Hiawatha is now 4-12 overall and 3-9 in League play.